Day 4475

Every Saturday I rejoin the world for a little while. I'm not sure I like what I see. The roads are crowded. The shelves at the grocery store seem emptier than they used to be. Gas actually seemed a little less expensive than it was the last time I filled my tank, but there was a line of cars behind me at the pump and you could tell that people wished I would hurry up. 

I don't know why the beer I like is getting harder to find. I bought the last 12 pack in the store today. The ginger ale I like is getting harder to find as well. On the plus side, strawberries are less expensive. They must be back in season again. I'm glad I do this only once a week. I don't enjoy shopping anymore.

Today was even warmer than yesterday. Even our sunrise walk with Dawn was fairly warm. By the time I took my long walk later in the day, the temperature was almost ninety degrees. I took my time, but I was tired. I don't know why I keep doing this. A long nap would have been preferable. I do need the exercise though. Without a long walk today, I probably would have gone back to bed after I finished grocery shopping.

I think I've been approved for the Axiom-1 launch although I haven't received any notification yet. I've started receiving mail from Axiom Space about pre and post launch press opportunities and I don't think I would be on this list if I wasn't approved. Hopefully I will get the official word soon. It's time to start making travel arrangements.

The rescue group is taking part in a shoe drive for charity and Janet keeps asking if I have any shoes to donate. Do I have shoes? I looked today and was amazed at how many shoes I've never even worn. Where did all these shoes come from? I guess I used to like to buy shoes. Many of these shoes are really nice, but I doubt that I will ever wear them. Foot pain has really limited my choice of footwear. I should be able to make a nice donation. If I don't get rid of these things now, I'll have to face the fact that I've become a hoarder. I don't like the idea of being a hoarder, but I do have tendencies in that direction.

Dawn definitely seems friendlier toward me now. Maybe that week we spent together was good for us. I don't think that Dawn will ever be completely comfortable with men, but I'm glad she's finally starting to trust me. The puppy mill dogs must have had a terrible life, because Dawn isn't the only one who has taken a long time to adjust. I think Dawn has finally realized that being a little Diva isn't a bad life. This evening she barked at me to hurry up and fix her dinner even though Janet wasn't home. For Dawn, that's getting pretty bold.

I think the eagles have gone for good. I look for them every day but I haven't seen either of the birds in weeks. Probably losing a nest with eggs in it was a traumatic event. I've noticed that a lot of the pelicans have disappeared as well. It's probably time for them to migrate wherever they go in the Summer. When the pelicans leave the purple martins start to arrive. Now that it is officially Spring, I'll probably start seeing baby ducks soon. I'll never be a birder, but becoming familiar with the birds in the park has made my walks more interesting.

It's time for Dawn's Sunday outing again. I'm really comfortable doing the same things over and over again. It's the new stuff that bothers me. 

Bubba is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4474

What day is it? Today seemed exactly like yesterday. I did all the same things in exactly the same order. I keep thinking about going out to eat for breakfast on Friday's again, but haven't started yet. It's easier to just eat another bowl of shredded wheat. It looks like I'll be doing some traveling this Spring, but I'm dreading getting accepted for anything. I should be excited about these upcoming trips, but I'm not. I'm avoiding things. Dawn and I just sit on the bed together and wait for something to happen.

I was going to call a roofer today but I forgot which one I liked a little better than the others. I have half a dozen  roofers in my contact list. They've all been out to the house and given me bids. Some were horrible and others seemed reasonably professional. They all seemed way too expensive. Everything connected with construction these days seems way too expensive. I don't want to call the wrong roofer, but I've got to do something. It's time.

The toilet repair I made the other day didn't last very long. The toilet has already started to run again. Why didn't my repair work? There are some components I can buy at a plumbing supply store, but others are unavailable. I've been fixing this thing for years, but it gets a little harder each time. Oh, well. It's probably time to just give up and get a new toilet. They say Toto toilets are good. I'm sure I can avoid making a decision a little longer though. I don't feel like making a decision about anything.

It was really hot today. I think it got up to eighty degrees this afternoon. There was certainly no need for a coat on my long walk. It was a shorts and t-shirt kind of day. Walking is just another way of avoiding making decisions. I think about things I ought to do on my walks, but I rarely do them. At least my feet didn't bother me today. My allergies weren't very bad either. It was actually a pretty nice Spring day.

I think I'm done with the star tracker for a while. The last time I got it out, everything made sense and I was able to align it properly. Now I'm trying to convince Sky & Telescope to let me write an article about it. I think I'd rather write an article about the tracker than actually use it. Maybe one of these days I'll take the tracker out at night and take some photos. I'll probably take it out to the observatory with me. There's no excuse for not taking pictures out there.

Janet went to a Dalmatian Club meeting tonight and learned that there is a new female named Dorothy at the kennel. I'll have to remember to take my camera next Monday. The rescue group has quite a few dogs now, including eleven new puppies. Sammy's puppies are all gaining weight and doing well. 

Time to make a grocery list again. Didn't I just do this a few days ago? Time flies when you are doing nothing.

Petey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4473

I think I've applied for too many events. Today I learned that NASA is resuming in-person NASA Socials starting with the Crew-4 launch in late April. Of course I had to apply for this as well. I love NASA Socials and they've been discontinued for over two years now due to Covid. If I end up getting approved for Artemis-1, Axiom-1, and Crew-4, I'm not sure how I'm going to afford it. That's a lot of launches in a short amount of time. Getting credentialed for all three events is doubtful though. I might not get approved for anything. It looks like there will be a trip out to McDonald Observatory this Spring as well. They definitely would like me to volunteer for their upcoming Dark Sky Festival. The thought of doing this much traveling is sending me into a panic. I'd really feel more comfortable doing nothing at all. 

It's hard to get motivated to do household chores, but I fixed the problematic French toilet again this morning. It seems like I just repaired this thing a little while ago, but my fix didn't last long. The running toilet was driving me nuts, so I took everything apart and cleaned the components again. This seemed to work, but I don't know why. I still don't really know how this odd contraption works.

I'm having a hard time getting up in the morning. I don't know if I'm not getting enough sleep or if I just don't want to face another day. Janet and Dawn are always up a lot earlier than I am. When I hear Janet say "we're walking in ten minutes," I reluctantly roll out of bed and get dressed. Dawn still loves her sunrise walks. Due to the time change, it seems like we are actually walking at sunrise again.

I managed to walk six miles again today. My feet actually didn't bother me too much. I'm walking a lot slower than I used to, but at least I'm still moving. It's amazing how quickly everything is turning green. The dogwood and redbud trees are flowering and I'm finally starting to see some wildflowers. I still enjoy seeing the park come back to life, even though I've witnessed the same thing every year for as long as I can remember. I should probably take a good camera and go exploring before it gets too hot. This is a good time of year for interesting pictures.

I'm hoping that my seasonal allergies are finally starting to abate. For the past two days my runny nose hasn't been nearly as bad. Being able to walk or even sit here at the computer without a constantly dripping nose is a blessing. I hope this lasts. It seems like with everything starting to turn green in the park, I've got more pollen woes ahead of me, but I'll take what I can get. The day is just a lot more enjoyable without watering eyes and a runny nose.

Janet wants to put a new roof on now and get started on renovations around the house. I'm dreading this, but it's probably time to start making some decisions. The house really does need a lot of work and I'm definitely not a big fan of roof leaks. I've never had a lot of success dealing with contractors though. It's a giant pain fixing things in a house that you are still living in. It's a lot easier to do renovations in an empty house. 

At least this week's trash has been taken out to the curb. Taking out the trash is more my speed. I can handle this. I'm not sure what I"m going to do tomorrow, although I have a feeling that it will involve a walk.

Chelsey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4472

I didn't really do much today but I still feel tired. We started the day as usual with a sunrise walk. Dawn is still excited about resuming her morning walks although I'd like to sleep in a little longer. At least I slept well last night. It was cold and I put a heavy blanket on the bed. I always seem to sleep better under a blanket.

After breakfast I went to the post office to mail my letter and then stopped by the AT&T store to ask about an iPhone 12 Mini deal that looked pretty good. The deal wasn't so good after all, since I would have needed to get a new phone plan to take advantage of it. I thought I had an unlimited data plan anyway, but apparently not. Hard to believe that AT&T has an even more expensive plan than mine, but they did. I also would have needed a new SIM card. I routinely move my SIM card between various phones, but that wouldn't work because the new phone was 5G. I guess I'll keep my trusty iPhone SE for a while longer.

The observatory contacted me today and said that they're interested in having me come out and volunteer during their Dark Sky Festival at the end of April. I'll probably go. I hate the long drive, but I've always enjoyed my time at McDonald Observatory. I've got friends out there and the night skies are absolutely spectacular. Hey, maybe I've got one more road trip in me. One of these days I really will be too old for this sort of thing. The only complication is that Artemis-1 might launch in late April as well. This is one launch that I'd really hate to miss.

I got a reply to my Sky & Telescope query. It wasn't a firm yes, but it wasn't a no either. They might be interested in a review of my Benro Polaris star tracker. I now have the address of the magazine's reviews editor and the encouragement I needed to pursue this a little further. It would be nice if I could figure out a way to combine my upcoming trip to the observatory with a review of the tracker. The magazine loves pictures, so this might work.

I walked my entire route today. It was a nice day and I wasn't worried about speed. It's unfortunate that it's getting a little harder to walk six miles every day, but I'd hate to give up at this point. What else would I do? I don't think I'd eliminate the foot pain if I went to the gym instead. Considering how bad my shoulder and knees are, walking is probably still my best form of exercise.

My allergies and/or cold seemed better this morning. At least I didn't spend the entire day blowing my nose. I'd really like to put this behind me, but I think it all depends on the weather. If there is going to be travel in my future, I definitely don't want to be fighting a cold. We'll see how it goes. This definitely isn't anything new. I can remember bringing entire rolls of those blue Scott shop towels with me on previous trips to the observatory. Flying with a runny nose isn't terribly fun either. 

Janet said that Dawn did well at training class tonight. She came home with another ribbon. Dawn must like the class. When Janet was getting the car ready, Dawn thought she was getting left behind and started crying at the front door.

Ariel is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4471

It's Winter again. After a few seventy degree days I thought I could finally put my Winter coats away, but apparently not. I was surprised at how cold it was this morning. Wasn't I wearing shorts yesterday? Oh, well. It's bound to get warmer sometime soon.

The cold weather didn't seem to bother Dawn. She was eager to walk again this morning and seems happy that the whole family is back together again. Dogs have simple expectations. I think that all Dawn wants is the confidence that her life won't be disrupted again. 

It was a slow day for me. I paid some bills and wrote a letter to my sister. I never got around to mailing the letter, but I can do that tomorrow. I was finally ready to order the Hoka boots I've been thinking about, but discovered that they were out of stock again. Maybe they've always been out of stock. The website I was ordering from didn't let me know that the boots were not available until I placed the item in my cart and was ready to check out. Seems like they could have let me know when I first started looking.

I think the Axiom-1 launch that I applied to attend has gotten postponed. I haven't heard anything official yet, but I think the schedule has been pushed back at least a week. That's fine by me. I'm not really ready to go anywhere yet. I think the only reason I applied to cover this launch was because I thought it would be easier than usual to get approved. We'll see. I'm feeling ambiguous about everything lately.

I've cut a mile off my daily walk in hopes of preserving my feet. So far it hasn't made much difference. My feet bothered me quite a bit today. Actually the whole walk bothered me. It was way too cold for late March and there was a stiff wind. I make myself keep walking because otherwise I would probably do nothing. I'm getting plenty of rest already although I'm still not sleeping well. I don't think I'm going to sleep well until my nasal congestion is completely gone.

I do feel better today. That's a good sign. I'm not blowing my nose continually like I was on previous days, although  I still have to sleep on my back because of sinus drainage. I don't have Covid or even a bad cold. I've had these exact same seasonal allergy symptoms every Spring for as long as I can remember. Every year they seem to start a little earlier and last a little longer. It's irritating and it's easy to start looking for another explanation, but it's just pollen.

This doesn't look like a good year for wildflowers. The early bloomers like Wild Iris and Grape Hyacinth are looking puny this Spring. There are fields where I typically see thousands of blooms and this year there are only a few scattered flowers. There are lots of other flowers that I haven't seen at all. Several of the resident geese have disappeared as well. I usually see ten on my daily walks and lately I can only find seven. There is an extra Muscovy Duck though. I saw three yesterday. I wonder where the extra one came from. It kind of looked like the smaller duck that flew into our yard last month. I wonder about ducks a lot. I guess it's better than wondering why there are so many grey cars lately. Grey has suddenly become a very popular color.

I'm being bombarded with spam lately. Every single day I receive an avalanche of spam and Phishing attempts on every device I own. I never answer the calls that say "suspected spam" on my caller ID. I don't open suspicious e-mail messages that say my accounts have been compromised. I routinely block all the unfamiliar calls and texts I get on my iPhone. The attempts keep coming though. Janet and everyone I know are dealing with the same thing. It doesn't give you a lot of faith in humanity. 

Brooke is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4470

We met Rocket today. Rocket is the last of the puppy mill dogs to arrive at the kennel. He had to stay at the vet longer than the others due to several medical issues. He still needs to gain some weight and his skin is infected, but he's looking so much better than when the rescue group picked him up. Rocket is definitely on the mend and he's going to be a great looking dog. He's still getting used to kennel life and is a little shy, but is very friendly. You can tell he hasn't had a lot of experience with toys, but he's curious. He's going to make a great pet for some lucky family.

It was a strange day at the kennel. It was raining pretty hard when we got there and about ten minutes after we arrived the power went out. Hopefully it's back on my now but there was no electricity for the duration of our visit. The dogs didn't seem to mind. There was enough light from an open door to the outside in the big playroom that we were still able to have fun with the dogs. We didn't see Candy and Julip today because they had just been spayed and needed to rest. Charlie, Oliver, Willie, and Jo Jo were all ready to play though. None of the dogs wanted to go outside and pee today. I can't blame them. It was pouring rain.

On the way home I was hoping that our own power didn't go out. The storms were pretty severe today and there were a lot of power outages. We got lucky. Everything was fine when we got home and Dawn was still sleeping on the bed. You could tell that we'd gotten a lot of rain. When I turned on the pumps, one of them didn't work. This wasn't good news. I really didn't want to deal with a roof leak, so as soon as there was a break in the rain I went up on the roof to see what was going on. It appeared that one of the pumps had burned out. It was hot to the touch and wasn't working. I didn't completely give up on the pump because it has an internal breaker that shuts the unit off when there is an overload. I used the time between storm cells to sweep as much water off the roof as I could before the rain started again. This was probably a futile effort. During a hard rain, the roof can fill with water in a matter of minutes.

It's raining hard again now, but there was a break in the storm that lasted over an hour, so I used the time to take a walk. It wasn't a long walk because I don't like getting caught in a thunderstorm. I did manage to get 15,000 steps today though and amazingly I didn't get wet. It takes a pretty nasty day to keep me housebound. Even on a rainy day, there always seems to be a little time to walk.

I took some Nyquil this morning to see if the claims on the bottle were true. It is supposed to relieve headache, fever, sore throat, minor aches & pains, nasal congestion, sinus pressure, and cough. I would have been happy if it just got rid of the congestion, but it did nothing. I wasn't terribly surprised. None of these over the counter cold remedies have any effect on me. Probably I still just have seasonal allergies after all. That would explain why cold medications don't work. I read an article recently that said this was the worst year  for seasonal allergies in modern times. Makes sense. It seems to be the worst year for everything else as well.

I'm still worried about a roof leak because we're getting a lot of rain. The faulty pump did start working again but it didn't stay working very long. Something is causing it to overheat too quickly. It's probably time to buy a new pump. The pumps I used to buy years ago were almost indestructible, but these new ones are lucky if they last two years. Nothing is made well anymore. Actually, I'm pretty sure that high quality pumps still exist somewhere, but you are never going to find one at Home Depot.

It's been a long and tiring day, but I did enjoy meeting Rocket. Maybe the weather will be better tomorrow.

Pringles is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4469 - Vernal Equinox

Today is the first day of Spring. It actually felt like it too. It was a warm, beautiful day and there were signs of new growth everywhere. The park, and even our own yard are turning green again. It's hard to imagine at this point that we will have any more freezing weather. Dawn certainly enjoyed the change of seasons. She had fun smelling things on her early morning walk and then was ready to go again a little later in the day when we took her on her Sunday outing.

I wasn't quite as exuberant because I was still feeling under the weather. I don't know how I got this cold, but I'm having a hard time shaking it. It's definitely your common, ordinary head cold, even though I rarely get these things. My nose is continually dripping and I feel like I've taken a bunch of decongestants even though I haven't taken any at all. I don't think it's the flu anymore, but I do feel tired.

We followed our regular Sunday routine. We had a big breakfast with bacon, eggs, and toast after Dawn had her sunrise walk. Dawn always gets a little bacon, so she loves our Sunday breakfast. Janet had some things to do, but we were ready to take Dawn on her Sunday outing around noon. Dawn will never ride well in the car, but she definitely enjoys this change of pace from her regular walks. Maybe the smells are different at the little park on top of the hill.

I don't know why I even bothered taking my long walk later today. I'd already walked enough. I should have just gone back to bed. Instead, I set out on my regular route but didn't get very far. Even though it was a beautiful day I only walked two additional miles. I was tired. Maybe I'll feel better tomorrow. I certainly hope so.

Dawn does seem to trust me a little more after spending a week alone with me. This of course makes Janet want to take another trip. I don't think Dawn is eager for Janet to go away again. She just doesn't think I'm someone to be afraid of anymore. This is all good. Maybe we'll finally have a family dog after all. This would be good for everybody. Especially Dawn.

I wonder when I'm going to hear about my application to attend the Axiom-1 launch? This launch happens pretty soon. I hate to make reservations before I get credentialed, because it's a pain to cancel things if the trip doesn't work out. These days, people would rather just leave you with a credit on your account than go to the trouble of giving you your money back. Flights and hotels fill up fast though now that the entire country is eager to travel again. Flights to Orlando are always full anyway because of Disneyland. I'm sure everything will get sorted out. I just tend to fret about everything.

I guess we'll go visit the kennel Dalmatians tomorrow. The weekend went by so fast that it doesn't seem like tomorrow is Monday. We have a lot of dogs to visit now, so I'd better get my long walk out of the way before we go. I waited to walk until after we got home last week and the sun was setting by the time I returned home. These are the kind of decisions I make these days. My life is so simple and yet it still seems complicated to me,

Baxter is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4468

I can't seem to shake this cold I've got. There's no fever anymore and my cough isn't as bad, but I'm still not feeling myself. I kind of just trudged through the day in a fog. I'd sit down on the bed to rest for a few minutes and then I've wake up several hours later wondering where the day went.

Dawn was eager to take a walk this morning. This was the first family walk she'd had in a week. She certainly hasn't forgotten her old schedule and had a good time smelling things in the park. Dawn has resumed all her old habits and has started barking at me again if I don't fix her dinner fast enough. She was a little nervous when Janet left to go to the gym this morning but after she returned Dawn realized that all was well. This was just the way life had always been.

For the first time in ages I saw almost nobody wearing masks in the grocery stores when I was shopping this morning. The stores didn't even have signs on the doors anymore. It was as if the entire city decided they'd had enough at the same time. I think the few people that still wear masks everywhere will continue doing so for the rest of their lives. That's OK. There are lots of things of dubious medical value that give people comfort. Just look on the shelves at any health food store. 

I continue to think the best way to stay healthy is to avoid crowds, get outside a lot, eat healthy food, go easy on the sweets, and get lots of exercise. Seems simple enough. So why do so many people still go to McDonalds? I guess I don't even understand the concept of fast food and haven't been through a drive thru window in years. Even a good restaurant meal usually has way too much salt. So, if I'm so healthy, why do I have a cold now? I think Janet gave me this cold, but she says that is ridiculous. Her cough was just allergies, she says.

Tomorrow is the first day of Spring. Somehow today felt like the first day of Summer. It was really hot this afternoon. I started to sweat on my long walk which reminded me that Winter isn't all bad. I didn't walk nearly as far today. I'm going to try this for a few days and see if it helps my feet any. I'm going to order some Hoka boots with an REI coupon I've got. They probably won't make any difference, but at least I won't have to wonder about this any longer.

It looks like it's going to be a good day for Dawn's Sunday outing tomorrow. Spring is always nice, although I tend to like Fall better. It's the temperature extremes of Summer and Winter that I try to avoid. I hope Dawn enjoys her walk tomorrow because it looks like we're going to get a lot of rain on Monday. Why? The roof is finally dry again. I'm so tired of rain, roof leaks, and the inability to find a roofer that I really trust. 

I think the eagles are gone for good. I haven't seen either of them in weeks. Nobody even talks about the birds anymore. It's almost like the whole eagle episode that captivated Dallas for a few weeks never even happened. I guess Andy Warhol's thirty minutes of fame principle applies to birds as well.

Holly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4467

All is well that ends well. Janet is home again and Dawn is a very happy dog. Actually today was Dawn's best day this week. She was finally starting to relax a little. I could clearly see the fear and uncertainty start to recede. Who knows. If Janet's vacation had lasted a few days longer we might have started to bond. I'm glad the week is over though. It's been a tough week for both of us. Dawn had to work really hard to overcome her many fears. Her worst day was when she threw up on the bed and refused to eat her breakfast. My worst day was when I felt like I'd come down with the flu. I have no idea if I really had the flu or not, but I had a persistant cough, was running a fever, and everything ached. I feel quite a bit better now and of course Dawn is over the moon now that Janet has returned..

I was determined to get something done today. I wrote several query letters with proposals for future articles. I guess it's a good sign that I've already received one reply. There's a launch in early April that Spaceflight would like me to cover, so I've already applied with Space X for credentials. Space X is much easier to deal with than NASA, so I'm optimistic that this is going to work out. The proposal I sent to Sky & Telescope might take a while to percolate to somebody's desk. They have always been very slow to respond. At least I did something. I was getting to the point where I was becoming too discouraged to even try.

I'm not sure how long I can continue taking my daily long walks. It's not fun anymore and the foot pain keeps getting worse. Usually only the last mile is terrible, so I'm thinking of scaling back my walks to 10,000 steps a day. That's less than half of what I can do on a good day, but I haven't had a good day in a long time. Maybe I'm wrong but I think reducing my daily mileage is a lot better than just quitting.

I had to make a non-standard change on the Dalmatian Rescue website today and it took me forever to remember how to write the code. I kept wanting to revert to the old way I used to build static sites years ago. This didn't work because I need to use the new mobile friendly website code. Why have I forgotten all this? I eventually figured out what I needed to do, but it was a bit disconcerting to see how quickly skills fade away if you don't use them everyday. I guess this is why I still do a daily blog post and take pictures with my phone whenever I see something interesting. If you want to call yourself a creative person, you've got to have some skin in the game.

I hope now that life has returned to normal I can finally get some sleep. Dawn and I didn't sleep well this week. The slightest noise would wake Dawn and she would sit up in the bed and look real alert until she thought the danger had past. This would usually wake me up as well. My problem was that I was always either too hot or too cold. The temperature never seemed right and my sleep stats on Fitbit and my Apple Watch were very strange. My resting heart rate was much higher than usual and my respiration rate was all over the place. At any rate, I'm tired of feeling poorly. Maybe I just don't handle stress very well.

It's hard to believe that it's already time to go grocery shopping again. My list will probably be longer than usual this week because the refrigerator is looking pretty empty. The pot roast that Janet fixed lasted all week. I don't know whether I'll need to get gas since I didn't go anywhere this week. The car never left the driveway. Hopefully the car will start tomorrow.

Skippy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4466

Dawn wouldn't eat this morning so I had to get out the canned food. If you have a finicky eater, you always keep a little canned food in reserve. I finally got Dawn to eat and do her business, but she is not a happy camper. Despite my best efforts, she still seems stressed and nervous. I think she's given up hope that Janet is going to return and thinks she's stuck with me now. I wish I could convince her that this is all just temporary, but it's hard to convince a stubborn dog of anything.

Other than trying unsuccessfully to cheer Dawn up, it was a fairly uneventful day. I took my long walk, wondered how to eliminate my foot pain, and eventually got the star tracker out again to try to answer the manufacture's questions. The weather was quite warm today but it was really windy. I felt like I was going to get blown off the trail at some points. I walk so slow when my feet are bothering me that I don't know if it even counts as exercise anymore. You've got to keep moving though, and walking is still a great way to fill an empty day.

One of the big selling points of the star tracker was how easy it was to use. I've just about concluded that this isn't true at all. This thing is actually very hard to use and if you don't do everything exactly right and in the proper order it will crash on you. The one encouraging thing is that the software gets better with each new release. I'm probably just not used to being a Beta Tester. I think I finally found the information that Benro wants to document my many crashes, but that's as far as I went today. I still haven't taken the tracker outside at night.

I should have been down at KSC for the Artemis-1 roll out today but I wasn't even invited. Most of my rocket photographer friends were there. Why was I overlooked? Nevermind that I couldn't have gone anyway. NASA couldn't have possibly known that I was here in Dallas caring for a very nervous dog. I tend to overthink things like this. There's probably a reasonably explanation. All I know is that it took me a long time to become accepted as a member of the Kennedy Space Center press. I'd really hate to start over again at this point.

I had a virtual meeting with my financial advisor recently and for the first time I can remember he talked about moving some of my assets into gold. This has never happened before. There has been one crisis after another over the years but maybe the current one is even worse than I thought. I really don't think Putin would nuke a Western country because it would mean the end of the world. Crazy men do crazy things though, so who knows. I remember growing up in an era where all people thought about was nuclear war. People built fallout shelters in their backyards and every other Twilight Zone episode seemed to be about some kind of nuclear disaster. I remember doing the duck and cover exercises in grade school although they wouldn't have helped much. If you are really worried about nuclear war, you need to move to a remote rural area with favorable prevailing winds immediately and start stocking up on canned food and fresh water. If you wait until conditions get worse it will be too late.

I'm not going anywhere because I still think in the long run sanity will prevail. Until then I'll just keep on keeping on. I took this week's trash out to the curb tonight and I'm really hoping that Dawn's appetite will return in the morning. All things considered we've done pretty well, but she's still Janet's dog.

Allie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4465

Dawn was reluctant to eat her breakfast this morning. She eventually got off the bed and ate but it took a while. I'm not sure how a dog acts when they are depressed, but Dawn certainly fits the bill. Luckily her appetite returned later in the day. I wish I could explain to Dawn that Janet is coming back. She seems a bit lost right now. We're getting everything done that Dawn needs to do, but she's not showing a lot of enthusiasm. It's probably not good for a dog to be so fixated on a single person, but I don't know what to do about it. Dawn decided early on that she was Janet's dog.

Tomorrow is the roll out for Artemis-1. I applied to attend this event but I never heard anything from NASA. I didn't even get a rejection letter this time. This is disappointing. I was getting press credentials fairly regularly for a while but something seems to have changed. I think my previous editor at the magazine had better connections with NASA but I'm just guessing here. It does feel like I've slipped off the radar though.

I'm going to have to get out the star tracker again because I did something wrong when I was uploading the information the company requested. I hope I don't lose interest in this thing before I get some good pictures. It could happen though. I don't think I'm cut out to be a Beta Tester. I'm not that detail oriented and for the most part I just expect machines to work. I'm sure that the bugs will be worked out in this thing over time, but I'm not certain that I want to be part of the process.

The weather was beautiful today but it was a bad day for foot pain. I'm really going to have to get some new shoes soon. I keep waiting for the boots I want to come back in stock, but I don't think that's going to happen. I don't know why it's been so difficult for me to buy something else. Walking is about all I do these days. I really need good shoes.

It's pretty quiet around the house now. I rarely watch television and Janet has the TV on most of the time. I wonder if Dawn would like to have a little noise? I think the quiet is peaceful, but I'm not a dog. There are so many things that I'd like to ask this dog. It would be nice to know why she doesn't like me. Maybe I look or smell like one of the guys who mistreated her at the puppy mill. I still hope we will bond at some point. This week would have been a good time to start.

I think I might have a mild case of the flu. My bones ache, I have a persistent cough, and I'm more tired than usual. I don't really feel sick although I do have a low grade fever. Janet's cough went away very quickly so hopefully mine will as well. I should probably take it easy tomorrow although I was going to do that anyway. My days are never very stressful or strenuous.

I hope Dawn perks up tomorrow. I hate to see her looking so dejected. We're just concentrating on the basics now. I make sure she eats, takes her pills, and has plenty of fresh water. She has plenty of opportunities to go outside and pee and at least once a day we go down to the park behind our house. I would be happy to take a walk with her, but as soon as she does her business, she wants to go immediately back to the house. It's actually a good sign that she will leave the yard with me at all. She stays on the bed with me now as well. We're making slow steady progress. Very slow at some points.

Ruthie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4464

Today was busy. It's easy for me to forget how many aspects of Dawn's life that Janet takes care of. I was finally able to get Dawn to do everything she needed to do, but it wasn't easy. I've never seen a dog so totally focused on a single person. Without her best friend nearby, Dawn seemed lost. She was pathetic and sad all day. The only way I could get her to eat was to go to to the opposite end of house after I fixed her meals. When Dawn was sure I wasn't anywhere near her food and water bowls, she would finally venture out of the bedroom and eat. She wouldn't leave the bedroom at all for her meds. I had to bring each pill back to the bed covered in cream cheese. She was reluctant to go outside and pee but I knew she couldn't hold it forever. We were a little off schedule today but I was able to get her to go outside with me on a leash. I didn't even try to get her to poop until later in the morning. She has a favorite place in a field behind our house and it took quite a while to get Dawn to work up her nerve to leave the backyard without Janet nearby. Maybe it helps that I'm usually the one who walks her. I've been doing this for months with this trip in mind.

Hopefully Dawn will start to relax a bit in the days ahead. It's going to be a long week if she stays as frightened as she was today. I was glad that she was OK with sleeping with me. She usually sleeps in the middle between Janet and me, so as long as she was on one side of the bed and I was all the way on the other, we maintained an uneasy truce. If I get too close, she starts to cry. Even with all these difficulties it is still much better for Dawn to be here than at a kennel somewhere. The house is her territory now. She loves our house and yard. I'm just kind of in the way. Dawn tolerates me when Janet is around, but I don't think I'm that important to her. Janet is the love of her life and I'm some kind of kennel attendant that takes care of a few basic chores.

If you saw how scared the puppy mill dogs the rescue group just picked up are, you'd start to understand what Dawn has gone through for most of her life. She was born in the same puppy mill kennel and spent nine years there as a breeding dog. In the grand scheme of things life in a regular home is still very new to her. To say that she has trust issues with men would be a giant understatement.

I'm still hoping that Dawn will eventually learn to trust me. It's going to take a lot of patience because Dawn hasn't had many good things happen to her in her life. She's really a wonderful dog and she deserves to relax and enjoy the rest of her life. Janet loves to travel and I prefer to stay around the house, so it would be great for everyone if Dawn could realize that I want to be her friend.

Dealing with Dawn took most of the day, but I was still able to go on my long walk, take a shower, and work with the star tracker some more. I think Dawn likes it when I take my long walks. She has the house completely to herself for two hours. She's very comfortable being alone. I watch her on the petcam sometimes while I'm out walking and she seems completely relaxed.

The latest version of the star tracker software is finally getting there. I had very few problems today. Some of the things that crashed the app before seem to have gotten fixed. I guess the next step is to take it outside at night and take some pictures. Some of the people in the Polaris support group are already getting good pictures. I'm just a little slower at mastering this thing.

Dawn has two more things to do before we're done for the day. She gets a late night snack at 10:15 PM and then goes out to pee one final time before bed. She's not a happy camper right now, but I think she did pretty good for her first day without Janet.

Carmine is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4463

Janet left on her vacation today. So far, so good with Dawn. She seems a little nervous and runs to the front door every time she hears a noise, but she did eat her dinner and take her evening meds. She spent most of the day on the bed, but that's what she does anyway. Hopefully she will relax a bit in the days ahead.

The weather wasn't great today, but we were able to give Dawn a nice early morning walk before Janet had to leave for the airport. It remains to be seen whether Dawn will walk with me. She might want to go down to the field behind our house if the weather is nice, but I'm not going to push things if she's reluctant.  It fine if she just wants to sit on the bed and do her business in the back yard. As long as she eats her meals, takes her pills, and gets a good night's sleep, we're good. It would be nice if Dawn can learn to trust me and relax when Janet is away. 

I could tell the weather was headed South when I took my long walk today, but I didn't get wet. The rain didn't start until later in the afternoon. It didn't rain long, but we got quite a downpour. We even got a little hail at some point. Luckily Dawn isn't bothered by storms. I'm the one who freaks out at bad weather. I'm always anticipating the next roof leak. The house is dry so far, but the pumps are still running on the roof.   I don't think we'll sleep well. Dawn will be listening for Janet and I'll be listening for the drip, drip, drip that signals a roof leak.

I was planning to test the new software for the star tracker today, but when the time came I just wasn't in the mood. I did a load of laundry and took my long walk but that was about it. Dawn sat out in the yard with me for a while before the rain started. That's a good sign. The yard is her territory now and she loves to roll in the grass.

I still may get 20,000 steps today. I'm almost there. I probably should have taken a shorter walk though. My feet are really bothering me this week. I wish there were other ways to use up the day, but walking still seems the best. You don't have to think while you walk. You don't have to drive anywhere. Walking is actually a very good form of exercise and if you are a visual person, there's always plenty to see. I wonder what I did before I started taking long walks? Oh, I remember. I was working.

I'm still toying around with getting a new iPhone. There are some deals out there now that look pretty tempting. I love gadgets and a phone is little so it won't take up a lot of space. The office is so full that I don't buy big things anymore. I'm trying to convince myself that I need a better phone camera, but do I really? I doubt it. I hardly ever use the phone I already have.

I start a new routine in the morning. Usually Janet feeds Dawn her breakfast, makes sure she takes her morning meds, and takes her outside to poop and pee. Dawn likes to hang around and eat some of Janet's breakfast too. She loves a boiled egg. I'm not sure how much of this morning routine Dawn will do with me. We'll give it a try though. I'm sure she'll eat but I may have to go back and make the bed while she's eating. Dawn doesn't like to eat if I'm nearby unless Janet is nearby as well.

Humphrey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4462

Another nice day. I keep hoping that our cold, rainy weather is over with, but as luck would have it there is rain in the forecast for tomorrow. I did nothing of significance today, but I did do a lot of walking. Dawn seems to have no problems with Daylight Savings Time. Even though we basically did everything an hour earlier today, there were no complaints. Some of our dogs would have become irate at a five minute change in their feeding schedule, but Dawn was fine. Underneath her many fears and phobias she's a very laid back dog.

I don't know why I spent so much time walking today because this wasn't a good day for my feet. After our sunrise walk, Dawn's Sunday outing, and my regular long walk I was beat. It was a good day for the weather however. I'm finally starting to see a few wildflowers in the park and the trees are starting to turn green. It's too bad that foot pain is still an issue. This would have been a good day to walk all the way around the lake.

I wasted a lot of time this afternoon trying to get my old Skype phone to work. This is a physical phone but it just hooks up to Skype. I used to use it a lot when I had clients in Europe, but I haven't turned the thing on in years. The phone is so old that the plastic case is starting to turn sticky and rubbery. The first thing I learned was that Skype is now part of Microsoft. When did that happen? The phone wouldn't connect to the AT&T WiFi, but it would connect to the older T-Mobile Hotspot. Microsoft has changed my easy to remember user name to a long string of letters and numbers that were almost impossible to type on the phone's tiny keyboard. I finally got the phone connected, but of course I have no one to call on Skype anymore. The whole exercise was just a way to kill time.

I'm surprised that I haven't heard anything from NASA regarding the upcoming Artemis-1 launch. Things are starting to happen next week and ordinarily I would have received a yes or no on my application for press credentials by now. I have no idea what is going on anymore. I don't hear much from NASA and I don't hear much from SpaceFlight Magazine. I'm beginning to wonder if anyone even remembers me. I don't think there's much I can do about the situation. I'm not a major player. There are a ton of launches in 2022 and even if I'm lucky I'll probably only be able to afford to attend two.

The Internet and my Fitbit both crashed about the same time this afternoon. It took me quite a while to figure out where the problem was. I ended up having to restart the router, the fiber optic gateway, the thermostat in the hall, my phone, the computer, and of course the Fitbit itself. I didn't even remember how to turn the Fitbit off. I think it has been on since the day I bought it. Everything works now, but I still have no idea what went wrong. Just another example of the complexities of networked life. Nobody really understands how all this stuff works.

I spoke too soon about Sammy's puppies. She had two more after last night's blog post. Now there are eight males and three females. Mom and the pups are still doing well. Dalmatian puppies are born without spots. The spots come later. Several of the pups were born with black ears though. These are going to be some good looking dogs.

Janet made a big pot roast for dinner so I'd have something healthy to eat while she was on vacation. I love a good pot roast. Dawn loves the carrots, so may she'll join me for dinner next week. Dawn is definitely Janet's dog, but I'll try my best to make life enjoyable for her while Janet is away. 

Wyatt is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4461

Well, the return of Winter only lasted one day. The cold front has moved east, clear skies have returned, and by the end of the day the temperature was back in the high fifties. I think we're finally ready for Spring. The forecast shows clear skies and temperatures in the seventies for the rest of the week. It was still very cold when we woke up this morning so we didn't bother to take Dawn on a sunrise walk. She does much better when it is warmer. Later in the day she had a very enjoyable walk.

My shopping list was small this week and I was back home in less than an hour. Even though Janet's doctor says she still treats Covid cases every week, the pandemic appears to be over in Dallas. I saw very few masks in the stores today. I didn't notice any big price increases either. Actually strawberries went down in price. Since I didn't need gas today, I'll deal with prices at the pump later. I hear they have gone up dramatically this week.

Since the weather was nice, I walked my entire route today. My feet were bothering me so I was pretty slow, but who's counting. I'm still pretty slow on a good day. The Hoka boots I've been wanting have been in short supply all Winter, so I'll probably just get another pair of the Bondi 7 shoes I'm wearing now. Too bad these shoes don't last longer, but they're the only things that keep me on my feet.

Sammy, the new mama dog in the rescue program, had her puppies today. Six males and three females. From what I've heard, Mom and the pups are all doing well. They are not at the kennel. Sammy left to be with her foster parents shortly after we took her picture last week. I still think that Sammy might be related to Dawn in some way. Several of the puppies have black ears just like Dawn's.

There is already a new version of the star tracker software. I haven 't even figured out how to use the previous version. I haven't bothered to install the new software yet. It will give me something to do the next time I have a really boring day. I'm beginning to question my interest in astronomy. I see all these pictures on my Facebook feed of people setting up their telescopes in the snow. I would never do that. It's got to be a really nice night before I'll even consider going outside.

I picked up take out for dinner from a new Chinese restaurant in the neighborhood. This was so much easier than going to PF Chang's in Northpark and spending forever looking for a parking place. Our tasty meal was more affordable too. Neighborhood restaurants are a win win. Luckily we appear to be getting a lot more of them. There are quite a few other new places in the neighborhood I'd like to try.

Daylight Savings Time starts tomorrow. I've always preferred Standard Time. I like to wake up to sunlight and not have to wait until past my bedtime to go out and look at the stars at night. Now it will be dark in the morning when we get up and it will be harder to get Dawn to walk in the morning. I wish we could just leave the time alone. Nobody seems to like these twice a year time changes. It's hard to change something once it has become established though. We'll probably be dealing with Daylight Savings Time forever.

It looks like tomorrow will be a good day for Dawn's Sunday outing. The native prairie is turning green again and I'm hoping we'll see some wildflowers. So far, there haven't been many Spring flowers this year. There will always be ice cream though. A nice walk with Dawn and some ice cream is always something to look forward too.

Lance is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4460

What a nasty day. The weather wasn't actually as bad as the forecasters predicted, but it never is. Weather forecasters like to alarm people just as much as the next guy. Dawn wanted no part of today's cold weather. We tried twice this morning to get her to go down to the park and poop, but she wasn't interested. She stubbornly waited until later this afternoon to do her business.

I had planned to just stay inside today, but eventually I couldn't stand to break my Fitbit streak. I've gone over 111 days walking at least 10,000 steps and I wasn't going to let a little sleet stop me now. I put on my warmest clothes and left the house around 11 AM. Unfortunately my timing wasn't very good. I ended up getting caught in the only heavy rain of the day. It didn't last long. Just enough to get me soaking wet and very cold. Needless to say I didn't complete my route today. I headed for home after one mile which meant I only walked two miles today. That was more than enough. I threw all my wet clothes in the dryer and spent the rest of the afternoon warming up. It wasn't a total loss. I did get 12,000 steps. 

If I had just waited a few hours I wouldn't have gotten wet at all. So much to trusting the weather reports. I was convinced that the weather was going to get worse as the day progressed. When Janet returned home around 3 PM, we took Dawn down to the park again and she finally pooped. She wasn't up for a walk though and immediately headed back to the house. I think Dawn is a lot smarter than I am about the weather.

I hate sitting around the house on a cold day. Typically there is absolutely nothing I feel like doing. I'm not a big fan of Amazon, Netflix, or Hulu movies and I haven't read a book in quite a while. That's why work projects were so beneficial. They gave me something structured to do during the day without having to interact with other people. As a bonus, I got paid well for avoiding the idleness I didn't like anyway.

I should probably stop watching cable news, abandon social media, and just start methodically rereading the thousands of books that line all four walls of my office. I've forgotten what's inside most of these books, but I remember really liking most of them. I used to love the novels of John Fowles. I read every one of them. John Nichols Milagro Beanfield War was a favorite of mine. I always liked John McPhee's nonfiction books. The Deltoid Pumpkin Seed was fascinating. Maybe I just liked authors named John. Of course there was Ken Kesey, Hunter S. Thompson, R.V Cassill, and many more. Even Andy Warhol's autobiography was interesting. I don't remember any specifics about these books on my shelves but I was a prolific reader for many years. I wonder what happened? The only books I've read recently are Andy Wier's The Martian, Jenny Lawson's Furiously Happy, and a self published book by an old ad agency boss of mine.

It was cold enough today that I went through the ritual of starting my car and warming it up without leaving the carport. The car would probably start tomorrow anyway, but I hate to leave anything to chance these days. There is water on the roof, but the pumps seem to be working well. I'm hoping that I don't hear a drip coming from the ceiling during the night. Janet sent me a text message saying that there was a dead animal on the front porch after she left the house this morning. When I went out to dispose of it, there was definitely something gross on the porch but it wasn't an animal. I'm still not sure what it was. Maybe it was the rotted remains of an old squirrel nest or something a dragon threw up. Life is always full of surprises.

Tyson is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4459

It's hard to believe it might snow tomorrow. Today was beautiful. It's difficult to beat 70 degree temperatures, blue skies, and very little wind. Dawn must have agreed because she seemed eager to take her walk this morning. I'm seeing signs of Spring everywhere. I guess tomorrow we'll see what Winter still has to offer.

I haven't completely given up on doing website design using an old system on an external hard drive. I copied the rest of the files I need from the server this morning and I'll give this a try and see how it goes. It's certainly not very critical how I update websites these days. I only work on two: my own and the one for Dalmatian Rescue.

It must have been a really slow day because I got out the star tracker again and began experimenting with it. I upgraded the firmware for the third time and installed the latest app on my phone. It's counterintuitive how this thing works and I usually end up with the camera pointing backwards when I'm trying to track something. Since I've only been using the unit during the day so far the only targets I practice with are the sun and the moon. The sun is too bright to be pointing a camera at on a day like this, but the moon worked perfectly. I really need to try this at night sometime, but I'm going to wait until it's a little warmer. I actually think the Polaris tracker works quite well. The software continues to improve with each new version. Most of the many errors I've encountered have been caused by me and the lack of an instruction manual. I still think this saga would make an interesting story for Sky & Telescope, but the editors don't appear to be interested.

I've really got to think of a better way to spend my day than taking long walks and complaining about my feet. The foot pain was quite noticeable today, but I was able to complete my entire route. Walking seems so much better than sitting around the house or watching television. It's worth the discomfort. Walking is a pretty mindless activity, but there are lots of things to see and looking at my surrounding always gets me thinking. No deep thoughts, but I do like to daydream.

I'm still doing my best to win Dawn's trust. I don't want her to be scared or depressed when Janet goes on vacation. So far we're still working on the basics. She'll come when I call sometimes now, but not always. When she's real hungry she'll watch me fix her dinner, but usually she waits in the bedroom until I'm finished fixing things and go back to the office. Then she'll come out to the kitchen and eat.  She'll share the bed with me now when Janet is away from the house. That's an improvement. A month ago she would always go out to the kitchen when I came in the bedroom. We've never had a dog that didn't like men before. You have to be very patient.

I'm a lazy person but I miss working. Working gave my day the structure it needed. It would be nice to have some interesting writing or website projects again. Not very likely though. All my old clients have either retired or died. I can't relate to the young people who replaced them at all. For the most part, young people just irritate me. If this sounds like the definition of a grumpy old man, it probably is. I'm hanging in there though. The week's trash has been taken out to the curb and I'm ready for whatever Friday brings.

Ely is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day